Marcia Kilgore is the suds-loving brains and beauty baroness behind the cute, kitschy, retro and pink-packaged Soap & Glory line, sold at Sephora and Target. She also founded a little spa company you may have heard of called Bliss, too!

Soap & Glory, which was born in the U.K., boasts skincare products as well as beauty items, so you can pick your pleasure. Her Glow Lotion is divine, imparting a shimmery glaze on skin that smells like mid-summer in a bottle (thanks to notes of peach, sweet strawberries, summer rose, gardenia and jasmine) and feels even better. Her new Mighty Mouth lip gloss is quickly becoming an item I reach for at all times. Since glossy lips are a huge priority!

The line’s retro glam style and the fact that Kilgore’s finger is firmly on the pulse of the beauty industry are two of many reasons that Beauty News NYC had to sit down with Kilgore and pick her beautiful brain. Here’s what we discovered about why she started to create a range of beauty items after enjoying such success in the skin care market.

BN: What is your favorite product you’ve ever created and why?MK: Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss because it’s sassy and fun to joke about, and makes your lips feel like they are attached to an electric socket.

BN: What is the one product you did not create but wish you did because you love it so much?MK: Shiseido Future Solution Facial Moisturizer is pretty incredible. It’s a fantastic moisturizer, and really keeps you hydrated even on the driest, coldest winter night.

BN: Favorite luxury product?MK: I buy Shiseido’s Lifting Foundation. I also swear by a Garren haircut. I’ll take any excuse to visit NY just to see him.

BN: Favorite mass market product?MK: I love Schwarzkopf’s Gliss shampoo for hair ‘without shine.’ I ran out of shampoo, hit the French ‘Intermarche,’ matched my hair (which coincidentally had exactly ‘no shine’ ) to the description on the pack, and have to say, it’s spectacular stuff. I like how it leaves your hair just a little bit slippery.

BN: One Soap & Glory product you will not be caught dead without and why?MK: Make Yourself Youthful Rejuvenating Face Serum, because you see results in about 48 hours. And incredible healthiness takes over your skin. It looks healthy. It looks vibrant. But in a not-overprocessed way. I’ve just never had a product that worked so well (mine or otherwise). I use it every night, under my moisturizer, on my face, neck and hands (and I will admit my elbows.)

BN: Can you talk about some of the color products in the S&G line – what is your philosophy on creating makeup products, since the line (and your history) is so skincare-dedicated?MK: The love our customers had for Sexy Mother Pucker really inspired me to launch our cosmetics line. It’s been one of our best-selling products since Soap & Glory hit shelves five years ago, and despite the fact that it was a small package on a shelf full of jumbo sized bath and shower gels, most weeks, it sold faster than anything else we had.

And so we realized that girls didn’t only want great body butters and shower gels and shimmer lotions, they wanted brilliantly formulated cosmetics that had excellent ‘bang for buck.’ So we called up our sources in Italy and France, pulled in a few color experts and makeup artists along the way, and started the march towards the launch of Soap & Glory cosmetics.

I think we’ve ended up with something that’s pretty exciting! We created the range for anybody who wants a great cosmetic item, and loves a bit of a laugh. Because at Soap & Glory, we believe a good laugh is more beautifying than a good ‘lift.’ I really love all of the products. Our motto is ‘If you wouldn’t buy it, don’t sell it,’ so we always launch cosmetics that we want to use ourselves, rather than just heaving yet another raft of new colors onto the shelf. It’s painstaking, but makes you feel really proud when you have to stand up for your own stuff.

If I had one I couldn’t possibly live without, it would probably be SUPERCOLOURFABULIPSTICK in Naked Beige*. It’s just the absolutely perfect nude but better lipstick shade. It’s got an amazing texture, fantastic moisture payoff and a great flavor. I wear it pretty much every day (and night.) After that, I can confidently say that I won’t leave my house without strategic application of a little KICK ASS CONCEALER*

(Editor’s Note: * denotes color line only available in U.K.)

BN: What is the one product tip you want so share with all of our readers?MK: Water, water, everywhere. Talk to any experienced cosmetic chemist, and he or she will tell you the same thing: water, hydration, moisture, whatever you want to call is, is the key to having beautiful, glowing, dewy skin. Flakiness is so 1970s. And while drinking decent amounts of water should help your skin, in actuality, it’s more about keeping water in the surface of your skin than absorbing it through the digestive process. So cover your skin with a good moisturizer every morning to prevent the TEWL (that’s transepidermal water loss) that happens as skin gets older and the intracellular lipid barrier weakens. Try Soap & Glory’s Catch a Wrinkle In Time daily moisturizer!

BN: What launches are you prepping for in 2012 and beyond?MK: We have big things planned for 2012. We just launched a new perfect pink shade of Sexy Mother Pucker – Baby Doll – and are donating a portion of the proceeds to a national anti-bullying program. Mighty Mouth Lip Balm is coming out in March. In April, we are launching our Fruitigo Collection, three bath and body formulas, all scented with a new exotic fruity fragrance and notes of frozen yuzu, orange oil, green fit and jungle pomelo essence. Products include: Foam Call Body Wash, Butter Yourself Body Cream and Pulp Friction Body Scrub.